Browns, Texans to meet as expansion team semi-successes

This time, the Expansion Bowl has a BCS flavor. Cleveland vs. Houston matches two climbers enjoying their best seasons of an era.

Steve Doerschuk

This time, the Expansion Bowl has a BCS flavor. Cleveland vs. Houston matches two climbers enjoying their best seasons of an era.

Previously, Cleveland-Houston had a Tidy Bowl ring.

Twice in the last three years, it was a comic-relief season finale. The Browns won at Houston on Jan. 2, 2005, breaking a nine-game losing streak under interim coach Terry Robiskie. Houston won last New Year’s Eve, when the Browns had hoped to drag the Texans with them into the dark void at 5-11.

Now, Houston (5-5) at Cleveland (6-4) isn’t exactly Patriots-Colts or Packers-Cowboys. It is the NFL’s two most recent expansion teams counting their blessings.

“We’re not where we want to be,’’ Cleveland General Manager Phil Savage said. “But we’re better than where we were.’’

Expansion life is hard, even for those who cheat the system. Contention is staggering in its relative appeal. Every expansion team has struggled, sooner or later.

Jacksonville and Carolina debuted as 1995 expansion teams against each other in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game. Incredibly -- or maybe not since generous rules allowed them to stack rosters -- they appeared in the AFC and NFC championship games less than 17 months later.

The Jaguars remained prosperous through their fifth year. They went 33-47 over the next five. Carolina crashed sooner, going 4-12 in Year 4, costing Dom Capers a job he replaced in Houston.

Cincinnati got an expansion team in 1967. Even with a Hall of Fame coach, Paul Brown, the Bengals were 27-42 through five years.

The Saints likewise appeared in 1967. They hit like an apparition, winning 91 of 298 games in their first 20 years.

The Browns are in their ninth year since expansion, as were the Seahawks in 1984 when they went 12-4. In the eight years before, Seattle was 48-69. In the 10 years after, the Seahawks were 73-86.

The Bucs entered the league with Seattle in 1976. Like New Orleans, Tampa Bay spent forever below sea level, starting with an 0-14 year.

Before they were 21 years old, they went 2-14 three times, 3-13 once, 5-11 or 5-10-1 six times and 6-10 four times.

As with the 1995 expansion teams, Canton was the gateway in for the Browns and Texans, who debuted in the Hall of Fame games in 1999 and 2002. The Browns won; Tim Couch looked amazing. The Texans lost, but they beat Dallas in their regular-season opener.